Holocaust Memorial at Sheepshead Bay, NY

WE ARE ASKING FOR MARKERS TO RELATE THE HISTORY OF WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HOMOSEXUAL/DISABLED COMMUNITIES ETC. DURING THE NAZI ERA

CURRENT STATUS OF OUR REQUEST FOR THE INSCRIPTON
As of May 3, 2008
The following final text has been reviewed by the USHMM and sent to the Holocaust Memorial Committee on April 12th for their approval. A response was requested by May 6th, 2008. If an approval is not given at that time, then we will demand that it go to the Advisory Committee or a meeting be set up with Commissioner Benepe.

There is the approved text as it now stands...

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY
AFTER THE NAZIS SEIZED POWER IN 1933, THE PERSECUTION OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY DRAMATICALLY INTENSIFIED IN GERMANY. ON MAY 6, 1933, DR. MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD’S INSTITUTE OF SEXUAL RESEARCH WAS VANDALIZED AND ITS LIBRARY AND PHOTO COLLECTION WERE BURNED.

BY 1935 THE LAW THAT CRIMINALIZED HOMOSEXUAL ACTS (PENAL CODE PARAGRAPH 175, PASSED IN 1871) WAS EXPANDED. IN 1936 S.S. CHIEF HEINRICH HIMMLER ESCALATED THE PERSECUTION BY FORMING THE POLICE TASK FORCE TO COMBAT HOMOSEXUALITY AND ABORTION.

AROUND 50,000 MEN WERE CONVICTED UNDER PARAGRAPH 175 AND SENT TO PRISONS, PENITENTIARIES OR SANITARIUMS. SOME WERE RELEASED ONLY IN ORDER TO BE CONSCRIPTED INTO THE GERMAN ARMY. HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS, OF MALE HOMOSEXUALS DIED IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. SOME WERE IDENTIFIED BY PINK TRIANGLES THEY WERE FORCED TO WEAR. THESE DEATHS WERE THE RESULT OF HARSH CONDITIONS, HARD LABOR, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION, BEATINGS AND MURDER.

AFTER THE WAR, WHILE MOST OTHER INMATES WERE LIBERATED AND SOME GIVEN RESTITUTION, HOMOSEXUALS CONTINUED TO BE ARRESTED AND PROSECUTED UNDER PARAGRAPH 175 UNTIL ITS REPEAL IN 1969.

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE DISABLED COMMUNITY
FROM 1933 THROUGH THE END OF THE WAR, THE NAZIS FORCIBLY STERILIZED UP TO 400,000 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND MURDERED APPROXIMATELY 250,000 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN THEY REGARDED AS "USELESS EATERS," WITH "LIVES NOT WORTH LIVING." BEGINNING IN THE WINTER OF 1939-40, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WERE VICTIMS OF CARBON MONOXIDE GASSINGS IN TRANSPORT VEHICLES AND LATER IN CHAMBERS. INSTITUTED IN HOSPITALS, THE PROGRAM "T-4" SYSTEMATICALLY SENT ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES TO THEIR DEATHS IN GAS CHAMBERS. UNDER THE “EUTHANASIA” PROGRAMS, GERMAN DOCTORS AUTHORIZED THE MURDER OF THEIR OWN PATIENTS BY LETHAL INJECTION, OVERDOSE OF MEDICATION, AND STARVATION.

DEDICATED TO THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945, APPROXIMATELY 3,200 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WERE SENT TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THEY WERE DEEMED “VOLUNTARY PRISONERS” SINCE ALTHOUGH THEY COULD OPT FOR RELEASE IF THEY AGREED TO SIGN A STATEMENT THAT THEY HAD RECANTED THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, MOST JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN THE CAMPS DID NOT RENOUNCE THEIR RELIGION. MANY OF THOSE WHO REMAINED FREE LOST THEIR JOBS, PENSIONS, CUSTODY OF THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS. MORE THAN ONE IN THREE DIED IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS. AT LEAST 1,900 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WERE KILLED UNDER THE NAZI REGIME.

DEDICATED TO THE GYPSY, ROMA AND SINTI COMMUNITY
IN 1938, A CENTRAL OFFICE TO “COMBAT THE GYPSY NUISANCE” WAS ESTABLISHED IN BERLIN. THE GERMAN CRIMINAL POLICE WORKED TO LOCATE AND CLASSIFY BY RACE ALL GYPSIES IN GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND, AFTER MARCH 1939, IN THE CZECH LANDS. THROUGHOUT NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPE, GYPSIES WERE INTERNED AND DEPORTED TO LABOR AND DEATH CAMPS. IN AUTUMN 1941, 5,000 AUSTRIAN GYPSIES WERE DEPORTED TO THE ŮÓDĘ GHETTO. THOSE WHO SURVIVED CONDITIONS IN THE GHETTO WERE DEPORTED IN THE WINTER OF 1941-1942 TO CHEŮMNO, WHERE THEY WERE KILLED BY POISON GAS. BETWEEN 196,000 AND 220,000 ROMA WERE KILLED BY THE AUTHORITIES OF GERMANY AND ITS AXIS PARTNERS.

DEDICATED TO THE POLITICAL PRISONERS AND “ASOCIALS”
BEGINNING IN 1933, POLITICAL OPPONENTS OF THE NAZIS WERE SENT TO DACHAU AND OTHER CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN GERMANY. COMMUNISTS, SOCIAL DEMOCRATS, TRADE UNIONISTS, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND EVEN CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL OPPONENTS OF THE NAZI REGIME WERE MARKED BY THE RED TRIANGLE THEY HAD TO WEAR. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHOM THE GERMANS BELIEVED WERE ENGAGING IN POLITICAL OPPOSITION TO GERMAN RULE IN OCCUPIED EUROPE WERE INCARCERATED IN THE CAMPS.

LESBIANS, ALCOHOLICS, HOMELESS PEOPLE AND OTHERS WERE DEEMED “ASOCIALS” AND WERE FORCED TO WEAR BLACK TRIANGLES IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THEY WERE SUBJECTED TO FORCED MANUAL LABOR, JUSTIFIED BY THE NAZIS AS “REEDUCATION” TO INSTILL PROPER SOCIAL HABITS AND PERSONAL DISCIPLINE.

As of April 12, 2008
The following text has been reviewed by the staff at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and edited by the staff at the Parks Department of the City of New York. We are now waiting for an answer from the Holocaust Memorial Committee or the Advisory Committee of the Parks Department. Congressmember Anthony Weiner (whose area covers Sheepshead Bay) said that he would help us get this done at the last meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club. Once we get the approvals from the City, we then need to start fund raising and then have an unveiling of the inscribed markers.

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY
AFTER THE NAZIS SEIZED POWER IN 1933, THE PERSECUTION OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY DRAMATICALLY INTENSIFIED IN GERMANY. ON MAY 6, 1933, DR. MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD’S INSTITUTE OF SEXUAL RESEARCH WAS VANDALIZED AND ITS LIBRARY AND PHOTO COLLECTION WERE BURNED.
BY 1935 THE LAW THAT CRIMINALIZED HOMOSEXUAL ACTS (PENAL CODE PARAGRAPH 175, PASSED IN 1871) WAS EXPANDED. IN 1936 S.S. CHIEF HEINRICH HIMMLER ESCALATED THE PERSECUTION BY FORMING THE POLICE TASK FORCE TO COMBAT HOMOSEXUALITY AND ABORTION.
AROUND 50,000 MEN WERE CONVICTED UNDER PARAGRAPH 175 AND SENT TO PRISONS, PENITENTIARIES OR SANITARIUMS. SOME WERE RELEASED ONLY IN ORDER TO BE CONSCRIPTED INTO THE GERMAN ARMY. HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS, OF MALE HOMOSEXUALS DIED IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. SOME WERE IDENTIFIED BY PINK TRIANGLES THEY WERE FORCED TO WEAR. THESE DEATHS WERE THE RESULT OF HARSH CONDITIONS, HARD LABOR, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION, BEATINGS AND MURDER.
AFTER THE WAR, WHILE MOST OTHER INMATES WERE LIBERATED AND SOME GIVEN RESTITUTION, HOMOSEXUALS CONTINUED TO BE ARRESTED AND PROSECUTED UNDER PARAGRAPH 175 UNTIL ITS REPEAL IN 1969.

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE DISABLED COMMUNITY
FROM 1933 THROUGH THE END OF THE WAR, THE NAZIS FORCIBLY STERILIZED UP TO 400,000 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND MURDERED APPROXIMATELY 250,000 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN THEY REGARDED AS "USELESS EATERS," WITH "LIVES NOT WORTH LIVING." BEGINNING IN THE WINTER OF 1939-40, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WERE VICTIMS OF CARBON MONOXIDE GASSINGS IN TRANSPORT VEHICLES AND LATER IN CHAMBERS. INSTITUTED IN HOSPITALS, THE PROGRAM "T-4" SYSTEMATICALLY SENT ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES TO THEIR DEATHS IN GAS CHAMBERS. UNDER THE “EUTHANASIA” PROGRAMS, GERMAN DOCTORS AUTHORIZED THE MURDER OF THEIR OWN PATIENTS BY LETHAL INJECTION, OVERDOSE OF MEDICATION, AND STARVATION.

DEDICATED TO THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945, APPROXIMATELY 3,200 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WERE SENT TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THEY WERE DEEMED “VOLUNTARY PRISONERS” SINCE ALTHOUGH THEY COULD OPT FOR RELEASE IF THEY AGREED TO SIGN A STATEMENT THAT THEY HAD RECANTED THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, MOST JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN THE CAMPS DID NOT RENOUNCE THEIR RELIGION. MANY OF THOSE WHO REMAINED FREE LOST THEIR JOBS, PENSIONS, CUSTODY OF THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS. MORE THAN ONE IN THREE DIED IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS. AT LEAST 1,900 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WERE KILLED UNDER THE NAZI REGIME.

DEDICATED TO THE GYPSY, ROMA AND SINTI COMMUNITY
IN 1938, A CENTRAL OFFICE TO “COMBAT THE GYPSY NUISANCE” WAS ESTABLISHED IN BERLIN. THE GERMAN CRIMINAL POLICE WORKED TO LOCATE AND CLASSIFY BY RACE ALL GYPSIES IN GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND, AFTER MARCH 1939, IN THE CZECH LANDS. THROUGHOUT NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPE, GYPSIES WERE INTERNED AND DEPORTED TO LABOR AND DEATH CAMPS. IN AUTUMN 1941, 5,000 AUSTRIAN GYPSIES WERE DEPORTED TO THE ŁÓD GHETTO. THOSE WHO SURVIVED CONDITIONS IN THE GHETTO WERE DEPORTED IN THE WINTER OF 1941-1942 TO CHEŁMNO, WHERE THEY WERE KILLED BY POISON GAS. BETWEEN 196,000 AND 220,000 ROMA WERE KILLED BY THE AUTHORITIES OF GERMANY AND ITS AXIS PARTNERS.

DEDICATED TO THE POLITICAL PRISONERS AND “ASOCIALS”
BEGINNING IN 1933, POLITICAL OPPONENTS OF THE NAZIS WERE SENT TO DACHAU AND OTHER CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN GERMANY. COMMUNISTS, SOCIAL DEMOCRATS, TRADE UNIONISTS, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND EVEN CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL OPPONENTS OF THE NAZI REGIME WERE MARKED BY THE RED TRIANGLE THEY HAD TO WEAR. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHOM THE GERMANS BELIEVED WERE ENGAGING IN POLITICAL OPPOSITION TO GERMAN RULE IN OCCUPIED EUROPE WERE INCARCERATED IN THE CAMPS.

LESBIANS, ALCOHOLICS, HOMELESS PEOPLE AND OTHERS WERE DEEMED “ASOCIALS” AND WERE FORCED TO WEAR BLACK TRIANGLES IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THEY WERE SUBJECTED TO FORCED MANUAL LABOR, JUSTIFIED BY THE NAZIS AS “REEDUCATION” TO INSTILL PROPER SOCIAL HABITS AND PERSONAL DISCIPLINE.

As of October 2007, we have been making progress and the Park's Dept. Advisory Committee, overseeing the Holocaust Memorial Committee, is now reviewing proposed text for several markers to explain what happened to the other victims during the Nazi Era. For the first time in years, I actually feel optimistic that the Parks Dept. will finally hear our plea and respond affirmatively.

This is the letter that I sent last year. With the assistance of the Council Speaker, Christine Quinn, we were once again attempting to get the Holocaust Memorial Committee to accept our request to inscribe the markers. The Committee refused again to our request.

As of June 23, 2006

AS of December 20, 2004

Adrian Benepe, Commissioner
The NYC Parks Department
The Arsenal - Central Park
New York, NY 10021

Re: Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park – Inscriptions of Other Victims Markers

Dear Commissioner Benepe,

Thank you for your response to my letter of September 27, 2004 to the Mayor regarding the missing inscriptions on the markers that were originally designed and approved by the NYC Art Commission for the “other victims” of the Holocaust in 1996.

After speaking with Jonathan Kuhn last year, I am now pleased to hear that an agreement was finally reached on whose individual name can be inscribed as part of the Memorial. As an aside, when I paid $540 for the names of my relatives to be inscribed on markers, there seemed to be no confusion. The form actually asked about the relationship of the deceased to the Holocaust. I was under the impression that all of the other individual names on the markers died during 1933-1945 due to the Nazis. I am glad that they have finally put that other issue to rest.

But that is not what we have been requesting for over the past 9 years. If you ask George Vellonakis on your staff, I am sure he can verify that the original design was quite inclusive. It had ten markers devoted to educate the public of what happened to the other victims as well as being a memorial to their lives. You are correct that the NYC Arts Commission approved these markers in 1996, but they were never inscribed. Once it was known that one marker would explain what happened to the homosexual community during the Nazi era, all ten markers were placed in limbo.

Yes, the main sculptural element includes a dedication to all of the victims of the Holocaust. That is why it is so ironic that the educational and memorial aspects for the other victims have been intentionally ignored. The empty markers actually speak louder to a lack of dignity and respect of these victims than the dedication purports to do.

May I ask who is going to be on the advisory committee to represent the other victims? Over the past 10 years there has been much scholarly research done on what happened to the other victims and most is now available on the internet from the U. S. Memorial Holocaust Museum. I am not sure where the debate or controversy even lies in 2005? Even Germany is now building a Memorial in Berlin devoted to what happened to the homosexual community and there are others that are devoted to what the Nazis did to the disabled community as well.

We have waited patiently for almost 9 years to have the stories told and the memories of those murdered victims recognized. I really don’t see the need to delay this for another year. So please let us know who is on this advisory committee and when they are meeting. Maybe we can be of assistance? There seems to be a pattern of receiving letters like yours right before election years. The last time I met with Mr. Bielsky was in the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office around his election time.

I would like to thank all your staff who have been working so hard on this project over the years and hope that we can finally end this injustice.

Sincerely,

Rick Landman

Cc: M. Sapolin, Mayor’s Office

September 27, 2004

Mayor Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Re: Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

On behalf of the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors, as well as numerous other LGBT, Jewish and Organizations representing People With Disabilities, we are asking if any progress has been made during the last year regarding the situation described below. Last year we were told that a “Blue Ribbon Committee” was going to be formed to look into this situation and we have not heard anything since that time.

While we wholeheartedly support the creation of a fitting memorial in the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park, we respectfully request that the Parks Department complete the Memorial as it was originally conceived and, thereby, install markers honoring ALL of the victims of Nazi persecution. For almost a decade we have attempted to persuade the Borough President and Memorial committee to install all of the markers, but to no avail. Once again, we now ask for your help and intervention in this city-sponsored project.

As approved by the New York City Commission on the Arts, hundreds of markers have already been installed with the names of those who perished and historical facts addressing the terrible plight of the Jewish community at the hands of the Nazis. As is now well-understood and accepted, the Nazis also viciously targeted many groups, including Jews, children, the disabled, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, political prisoners, criminals, Communists (including Soviet prisoners of war), and Freemasons, among others.

Unfortunately, the ten originally approved markers with text describing the persecution of other groups of people targeted by the Nazis have never been inscribed. As a result, the historical accuracy and educational importance and usefulness of the Memorial is appreciably diminished. Indeed, the absence of inscriptions on these markers mocks the entire Memorial, especially in light of the dedication plaque in the center of the park.

Ironically, the main element of the Memorial Park states that it is dedicated "To the five million other innocent human beings who were also murdered under the German rule during World War II." Even the Holocaust Memorial Committee's brochure states: "As New York's first public memorial to the Holocaust, this unique Memorial will stand for all time as a somber reminder of the millions of lives lost and the rich culture destroyed. An eternal light will shine in lasting memory of those who perished and as a beacon of hope for the future. A field of granite markers, inscribed with places and important historical events related to the Holocaust, will educate and inspire future generations to remember."

Many of these "important historical events" have been ignored by the Committee for years. We believe that the text on the 10 markers will give the public a deeper historical understanding of the Holocaust and will serve as tangible reminders of ALL who died. It will literally be one of the few places in the world where the lives of murdered disabled people, homosexuals, gypsies, and others will even be memorialized.

We believe that this city-owned and -funded park should tell the entire story and not ignore segments of our City's citizenry.

We urge you to correct this injustice and require the Parks Department to include text on individual markers consistent with original and approved plans for the memorial.

We look forward to your response and hope that this injustice can be rectified soon.

Sincerely,

Richard Landman

Co-chair

IALGCHS

Cc: Mathew Sapolin (Mayor’s Office - People With Disabilities)

June 2004
During the summer of 2003, the Mayor's Office for Disabled Persons has taken an interest in seeing that the marker for the Disabled is inscribed and they are taking an inclusive approach that all victim groups should be inscribed. They have met with the Parks Department (who really has the power to just fix this problem unilaterally)and the Parks Department is setting up a panel to review the inscription situation at the Park.
If nothing happens by year's end, then we will use the petition below and ask our City Council for assistance.
If you or your group agrees with the following statement, please email me your endorsement at info@infotrue.com.

While we wholeheartedly support the creation of a fitting memorial in the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park, we respectfully request that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Gifford Miller instruct the memorial committee to complete the Memorial as it was originally conceived and, thereby, install markers honoring ALL of the victims of Nazi persecution. For several years we have attempted to persuade the Memorial committee to complete and install all of the markers, but to no avail. We now ask for your help and intervention in this city-sponsored project.

As approved by the New York City Commission on the Arts, hundreds of markers have already been installed with the names of those who perished and historical facts addressing the terrible plight of the Jewish community at the hands of the Nazis. As is now well-understood and accepted, the Nazis also viciously targeted many groups, including Jews, children, the disabled, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, political prisoners, criminals, Communists (including Soviet prisoners of war), and Freemasons, among others.

Unfortunately, the ten originally approved markers with text describing the persecution of other groups of people targeted by the Nazis have never been inscribed. As a result, the historical accuracy and educational importance and usefulness of the Memorial is appreciably diminished. Indeed, the absence of inscriptions on these markers mocks the entire Memorial, especially in light of the dedication plaque in the center of the park.

Ironically, the main element of the Memorial Park states that it is dedicated "To the five million other innocent human beings who were also murdered under the German rule during World War II." Even the Holocaust Memorial Committee's brochure states: "As New York's first public memorial to the Holocaust, this unique Memorial will stand for all time as a somber reminder of the millions of lives lost and the rich culture destroyed. An eternal light will shine in lasting memory of those who perished and as a beacon of hope for the future. A field of granite markers, inscribed with places and important historical events related to the Holocaust, will educate and inspire future generations to remember."

Many of these "important historical events" have been ignored by the Committee for years. In response to our requests, the Committee has noted that the main sculpture includes some text concerning the other groups targeted by the Nazis. We believe, however, that the text on the 10 markers will give the public a deeper historical understanding of the Holocaust and will serve as tangible reminders of ALL who died. It will literally be one of the few places in the world where the lives of murdered disabled people, homosexuals, gypsies, and others will even be mentioned.

We believe that this city-owned and -funded park should tell the entire story and not ignore the history of many of our City's citizenry.

We urge the Mayor and City Council Speaker to correct this injustice and require the Memorial Committee to include text on individual markers consistent with original and approved plans for the memorial.

Congressman Nadler is listed as a member of the Board of Directors of the local community group that prevented the inscription of the markers. He has written to them a strong letter asking them to reconsider their decisions and support the inscriptions.

January 23, 2003
STATEMENT HANDED OUT AT THE MEETING WITH THE BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT
After trying for several years, we are very pleased to be invited to attend this meeting at the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. We hope that we can come to a mutually agreed upon resolution for this issue.

In essence, we applaud all the work and effort that went into designing and maintaining the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park, but we feel that the City erred in not completing the Memorial as originally designed.

Can you imagine going to an exhibit and reading the dedication plaque that states that it is dedicated to certain people, only to find that the dedicated people are missing from the exhibit? That is how we feel about seeing this Memorial dedicated to all of the victims of the Nazi era and then seeing that the ten markers devoted to telling their part of history were never inscribed.

We believe that in order to educate people to what happened and to dispel myths on both sides, that the Memorial should include inscribed histories for all of the 10 other groups that the Nazis persecuted. One gets a fuller sense of the extent of the Holocaust when one learns the entire history of the era.

In addition, the Memorial is to respect and memorialize the lives of the other victims. This way more visitors can remember the lives of the disabled, homosexual, Yehovah witnesses, etc. in addition to what happened to the Jewish community. We do not equate the persecution of the various groups but instead strive to encourage more research to clarify the differences. This Memorial would be the perfect place in our great City to educate the public and remember what persecution and intolerance and extermination brings.

Jewish Week article, January 17, 2003 pg. 10: Reporting first meeting with Borough President Markowitz

October 25, 2002

Honorable Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough President
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Re: Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park Exclusion of Markers
Dear Borough President Markowitz,

Last year at the Lambda Independent Democrats Endorsement Meeting, you told me that you believed that all victims of the Holocaust, including the homosexual and disabled communities deserved to be memorialized. You also requested more information about the specific proposal we were presenting. At that time I prepared the attached package and gave it to Jill Harris. After the election, I spoke with Rabbi Fingerer and Erik Paulino and it was suggested that I give you some time to get acclimated. Being that it will now be the anniversary of the election, I thought it was time to bring it back to your attention. I hope that you will take this request more seriously than your predecessor who feigned interest and acted if he had no say in this City funded project.

The specific proposal is quite simple. We would like to see the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park be completed as it was originally designed. This City owned park (developed with City funds and designed by City staff) originally included stone markers telling the story of what happened to the other victims of the Holocaust. I have enclosed copies of the original project and articles/letters written about the past situation.

Ironically, the main element of the Memorial even states that it is dedicated "…To the five million other innocent human beings who were also murdered under the German rule during World War II". But when it came to telling the story of what happened to these "other innocent human beings", the former Borough President refused to have the markers included in the Memorial Park.

We would like to open a dialogue with you to see how this exclusion of history and memories can be rectified. We can either use the original text that was proposed, or can modify it. We even drafted new text based on a request of the Holocaust Memorial Committee to do so years ago.

Over the years many groups and elected officials have agreed that the time has come to have an inclusive City Memorial at Sheepshead Bay. We would like to see this City Memorial be inclusive and historically accurate. In this manner, more people can come and learn about the entire picture of how the Nazi atrocities came into being. It could be a place of reflection for all the victimized groups and one of the few places in America where the memories of the disabled and homosexual community are respectfully revered.

I hope that you will agree to work with us to make this dream come true. I would love to attend an unveiling where the Markers are finally inscribed. You can call me at 212 998-2365 if you would like to set up a meeting to discuss this matter. I am not sending a copy of this to the media in order to give us some time to calmly discuss the item.

Sincerely,
Rick Landman
Co-chair

Cc: Cong. Jerry Nadler - Bd. of Directors, Holocaust Memorial Committee
Ms. Pauline Bilus - Advisory Committee, Holocaust Memorial Committee
International Assoc. of Lesbian & Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors
Lambda Independent Democrats - Brooklyn
Cong. Beth Simchat Torah - Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
The Generation After & Holocaust Survivors Association - Brooklyn
The Disability Rights Advocate - Sid Wolinsky
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Klaus Mueller

New Press Release:

The New York Blade tried to confirm what happened at the LID Meeting and unfortunately only Jeannette Gadson gave a clear statement that she would support the inclusion of a stone marker, the other two candidates are requesting additional information (AGAIN!) before giving their support. They say they support it in concept, but will not make a commitment. This is similar to the story that I got from the current Borough President. As soon as another candidate makes a firm commitment I will write to the Blade and update this site. The issue will also be raised in a Mayoral Forum given by CBST and MCC before the September 11th primary.

All 3 Democratic Candidates for Brooklyn Borough President Endorse A Plan to Memorialize the Homosexuals Who Died During the Nazi Era.

On May 10, 2001 at a meeting of the Lambda Independent Democrats, all 3 Democratic Candidates for Brooklyn Borough President endorsed a plan to include a stone memorial marker at the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park to remember those in the homosexual community who perished during the Nazi Era. Ken Fisher, Jeannette Gadson and Marty Markowitz all pledged to create one of the first Monuments in America clearly dedicated to telling what happened to the homosexual community during the Third Reich.

This NYC Holocaust Memorial Park was created in Sheepshead Bay in 1995 on city owned land with city funds. Even though it is dedicated to all of the victims of the Holocaust, the current Borough President refused to discuss having one stone marker to tell this part of the GLBT history. Since 1996, the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors has been requesting that some of the hundreds of markers in the Park be devoted to remembering the lives of the other victims of the Nazi terror.

In 1998, the Disability Rights Advocates joined in this struggle for inclusiveness by requesting a stone marker to tell the fate of the disabled during the Third Reich.

Rick Landman, spokesperson for the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors stated, "Three members of my family members' names were already inscribed in the Memorial. I am now pleased that the lives of other victims will also be remembered. The Memorial Park can now be a place where many more New Yorkers can come to reflect on what happened during the Nazi era and memorialize the lives of all of the victims. It is my hope that eventually somewhere in this City there should be a Monument dedicated to all those who died throughout history due to their sexual orientation or gender. "

George Vellonakis, the staff designer who prepared the initial plans for the Memorial Park states, "The original design of the Memorial included 10 markers which clearly stated why the Nazis had targeted individual groups (other victims). These markers (and their text) were originally approved by the Holocaust Memorial Committee, Borough President, Historians and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.

Sol Wolinsky of the Disability Rights Advocates, states "We too have been requesting that the Park memorialize the victimization and exploitation of the hundreds of thousands of disabled men, women, and children who perished and/or were sterilized during the Nazi era. We believe in expanding the constituency of the Memorial to include all the victims for which it was dedicated."

The proposed draft wording for these two markers is: Marker #1

Homosexuals were among the first groups targeted by the Nazis. As early as May 6, 1933, Dr.Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Sciences was destroyed and its contents burned in the famous Berlin bonfires. In 1935, the law against male homosexuality (Penal Code Paragraph 175) was revised to make it even easier to arrest homosexuals with the slightest of evidence. In 1936, Heinrich Himmler escalated the persecution, by forming the Committee to Combat Homosexuality and Abortion. Approximately 100,000 men were arrested for being homosexual, and were either sent to prisons, penitentiaries, concentration camps, sanitariums or released to fight in the army. Approximately 10,000 were sent to concentration camps as "Pink Triangle" prisoners, where thousands died as a res

ult of harsh conditions, hard labor, medical experimentation, and beatings. After the war, while other inmates were liberated and given restitution, homosexuals continued to be subject to punishment under Paragraph 175 until its repeal in 1969.

Marker #2:
From as early as 1933 through the end of the war the Nazis forcibly sterilized 400,00 men and women with disabilities. They also murdered over 350,000 men, women and children who, because of their disabilities, were regarded as "useless eaters," and "lives not worth living." In the winter of 1939-40, people with disabilities became the victims of the first, experimental gas chamber, a method expanded for use against all people with disabilities, and later as a vehicle for the entire Holocaust. In hospitals (turned killing centers) doctors killed their own patients. The program "T-4" systematically sent adults with disabilities to their deaths via the gas chamber and lethal injection. Children's killing wards used starvation and deadly amounts of medication to eradicate the population of children with disabilities.

For More Information:
www.infotrue.com and click on the Sheepshead Bay Button.

Rick Landman, (212) 998-2365. (infotrue@yahoo.com) - Spokesperson for the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors.

George Vellonakis (212) 788-0119 (georgevellonakis@aol.com) - The city designer of the Memorial.

Sol Wolinsky - (510) 527-5321 (general@dralegal.com) - Disability Rights Advocates

Lambda Independent Democrats (pfleming@aicpa.org)

This picture shows the center of the memorial and a portion of the park full of stone markers. The words on the following pictures are either on the top of the markers or on the large slab lying on the ground in front of the monument. We are asking for the ability to inscribe one of the empty stone markers.

"Dedicated officially in June 1985 by Mayor Edward Koch, the Mall has been the site of memorial programs... During these ten years, the Holocaust Memorial Committee has campaigned to have a permanent memorial to the victims of the Shoah erected at that site. With the funding allocated by Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden, this dream is now a reality!

As New York's first public memorial to the Holocaust, this unique Memorial will stand for all time as a somber reminder of the millions of lives lost and the rich culture destroyed. An eternal light will shine in lasting memory of those who perished and as a beacon of hope for the future. A field of granite markers, inscribed with places and important historical events related to the Holocaust, will educate and inspire future generations to remember."

This is taken from the Holocaust Memorial Committee's brochure

This is New York City Parks Department's sign, naming the city park "Holocaust Memorial Mall".

This is a close-up of the center of the Memorial showing the eternal light and slab.

On the slab in front of the Monument it states, "This Memorial is dedicated... to the eternal memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children methodically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust;
To the five million other innocent human beings who were also murdered under the German rule during World War II;
To the heroes of the ghettos and the Jewish armed resistance;
To the partisans and Allied Soldiers who fought for freedom;
To those who survived the horrors and degradation of the Nazis;
To the few righteous among the nations who risked their lives to shield those targeted for death;
And to all those who wage battle for freedom and human dignity.
Humanity must learn, understand, and remember so that will never happen again. REMEMBER!
You would think that they would be cooperative since the park is dedicated to the other vicims too!

Further down the slab it states,"As the Nazi tyranny under Adolf Hitler spread across Europe from 1933 to 1945, millions of innocent non-Jewish people were persecuted and murdered. As well caught up in the Nazi slaughter were more than 200,000 Gypsies (Roma and Sinti) and about 200,000 mentally or physically disabled persons. More than three million Soviet Prisoners of War were killed because of their nationality. Poles as well as other Slavs were tarageted for slave labor and as a result tens of thousands perished. Homosexuals and others deemed "anti-social" were persecuted and often murdered in addition thousands of political and religious dissidents such as communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jehovah's Witnesses, were persecuted for their beliefs and behavior. Many of these individuals died as a result of maltreatment."We are appreciative that the main slab does mention the other victims, but we want one stone marker to be a physical place where people can go to learn more about what happened and to be able to remember those other victims who died.

ALL WE ARE ASKING IS ONE STONE TO TELL WHAT HAPPENED AND TO SERVE AS A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO REMEMBER THOSE HOMOSEXUALS WHO DIED! Unfortunately, Borough President Howard Golden has refused to even consider it.
In April 1999, I presented the following draft text and proposed that two new markers be added to the park. It was our hope that the Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Committee would have agreed to include the markers to tell the story of what happened to some of the other Victims of Nazism. It should be noted that the Memorial is on City land and was paid for by City taxpayers, and was dedicated to all of the victims of the Holocaust. To my disappoint the Borough President and the Committee decided in August, not to agree to the concept of adding the following two markers. Here is the proposed wording that was suggested for first marker.

NAZI PERSECUTION OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY

Homosexuals were among the first groups targeted by the Nazis. As early as May 6, 1933, Dr.Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Sciences was destroyed and its contents burned in the famous Berlin bonfires.
In 1935, the law against male homosexuality (Penal Code Paragraph 175) was revised to make it even easier to arrest homosexuals with the slightest of evidence. In 1936, Heinrich Himmler escalated the persecution, by forming the Committee to Combat Homosexuality and Abortion.
Approximately 100,000 men were arrested for being homosexual, and were either sent to prisons, penitentiaries, concentration camps, sanitariums or released to fight in the army. Approximately 10,000 were sent to concentration camps as "Pink Triangle" prisoners, where thousands died as a result of harsh conditions, hard labor, medical experimentation, beatings and point-blank murder.
After the war, while other inmates were liberated and given restitution, homosexuals continued to be subject to punishment under Paragraph 175 until its repeal in 1969.

Click Here to see other Memorials to the Homosexual Persecution During the Holocaust

The following are the words which we proposed to be inscribe on another marker in the Memorial Park.

NAZI PERSECUTION OF THE DISABLED

From as early as 1933 through the end of the war the Nazis forcibly sterilized 400,00 men and women with disabilities. They also murdered over 350,000 men, women and children who, because of their disabilities, were regarded as "useless eaters," and "lives not worth living."
In the winter of 1939-40, people with disabilities became the victims of the first, experimental gas chamber, a method expanded for use against all people with disabilities, and later as a vehicle for the entire Holocaust.
In hospitals (turned killing centers) doctors killed their own patients. The program "T-4" systematically sent adults with disabilities to their deaths via the gas chamber and lethal injection. Children's killing wards used starvation and deadly amounts of medication to eradicate the population of children with disabilities.

UPDATE ON STATUS OF ADDING A MARKER FOR THE DISABLED AND HOMOSEXUALS KILLED DURING THE HOLOCAUST
In August I contact the Office of the Borough President of Brooklyn, (Howard Golden's Office) and spoke with his liasion for the Lesbian and Gay Community and I explained the sitution. To my disappointment the liasion informed me that the Borough President did not wish to get involved. So I went to the Office of the Comptroller (Alan G. Hevesi) and upon his liasion informing him of the situation, I was called immediately that Comptroller Hevesi would intervened on our behalf. We are now told the Borough President Howard Golden of Brooklyn is opposed to the placement of any markers representing what happened to the disabled or homosexuals during the Nazi Era. We are still trying to convince the Borough President that his views are discriminatory and not in keeping with the lessons of the Holocaust. I hope that we will be able to erect the two markers without having to seek any other legal remedies.

Years ago, the following article appeared in the Sunday New York Times. Even though we sent several letters supporting the idea of markers for other victims, we never received any responses. It is our hope and feeling that over time, people have come to realize that to truly understand the impact of the Holocaust, one must remember all of what happened. This struggle will continue.

This is a close-up of a marker with the names of my greatgrandparents.

My father standing by the Dachau historical marker. He was interned there after Kristallnacht.

I am standing at the marker with my greatgrandparent's names.

This shows one of the "historical markers" that educates the public about a certain aspect of the Holocaust. The marker on Dachau does mention that homosexuals were interned there.

For more information or to tell them about your feelings, contact:
The Holocaust Memorial Committee
60 West End Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11235
Telephone- (718) 743-3636
You can pay $180 per name to have the names of people inscribed who perished in the Holocaust.